ATLANTA - New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith said he felt the Atlanta Falcons were trying to make a statement when they decided to go for it on fourth-and-inches from their own 29-yard line during overtime at the Georgia Dome on Sunday afternoon. "They were saying, 'We're big, bad and stronger than you guys,'" Smith said. "And we stood up and said, 'No you're not.'"

The Saints' defense stuffed 247-pound tailback Michael Turner for no gain on the play. And four plays later, Saints kicker John Kasay nailed a 26-yard field goal for a 26-23 victory that allowed New Orleans to make an even bigger statement in the NFC South standings.

"It's huge," Smith said of Sunday's victory. "It's huge for football reasons, because it gives us a divisional lead going into the bye, which is great. And it means something for the people of New Orleans, because it's a big rivalry game. A lot of people come up from New Orleans, and they talk a lot of trash, and they expect us to back it up.

"And we backed it up for 'em."

As usual, Sunday's game was a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle that literally turned into a "game of inches." That's become the norm in this series, which has now produced four consecutive three-point games, two of them in overtime.

There were a dozen huge moments in Sunday's game, where the momentum dramatically shifted from one side to the other -- especially late, when the Falcons rallied from a 10-point deficit over the final 7:13 to force overtime.

Ultimately, though, it was that fourth-and-inches play with 10:52 remaining in overtime that decided the game and dominated the postgame conversation.

Falcons Coach Mike Smith will no doubt take plenty of heat for his decision. But he said he didn't want to give the ball back to the Saints' offense and, "If we're not going to move the ball two or three inches, then we probably are not going to win the football game."

Both teams already had punted once in overtime when the Falcons decided to put the game on the line.

"First we were going to punt the football, then I had a change of heart and I wanted us to go for it," explained Smith, who called a timeout before taking his punting unit off the field. "I did not want to give the football back to the Saints. In previous games, in close games that we've played them, we've punted the ball and they've gotten the ball back with three minutes to go. We never saw it again, and they ended up winning the ballgame.

"That was the decision-making process that I went through."

The Saints had mixed reactions to Smith's decision. Some players, such as linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar, admitted that they were happy when Atlanta was lined up to punt the ball because they felt like once Saints quarterback Drew Brees got the ball in his hands for a second time in overtime, he would lead them down the field.

Others, such as guard Carl Nicks, said they wanted the Falcons to go for it because they knew the defense could stop them and the game would be over right then and there.

Still others, including Coach Sean Payton and Brees, said they could see the pluses and minuses of both options, and they were preparing for either scenario.

Will Smith was one of the few who said he was genuinely surprised to see the Falcons bring their offense back on the field. Although teams often go for it on fourth-and-inches, Smith said, "Yeah, but not on the 30. In overtime."

"They were trying to send a message, and we took it personal," Smith said. "We were like, 'There's no way we're gonna let 'em get it.' You could just see it in the eyes of the players. There was no way they were gonna get that first down. Just by the way everybody looked, and just by the way everybodys intensity was."

And it wasn't even close. Smith and defensive tackle Shaun Rogers were credited with making the tackle, but the entire defense seemed to surge at the point of contact.

The Falcons' play call was a bit slow in developing, with a pulling guard and fullback trying to create a lane for Turner to the left. He got nowhere, and he actually lost some ground by the time Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins and the linebackers filled in through the back side.

"To be able to end it knowing that the defense did it, it feels good," Dunbar said. "You know, our offense is prolific. We know they're gonna score points, we know they're gonna do their job. But it feels good to have it rest on the defense to make a play."

The Saints' defense also started the game strong before collapsing late in the fourth quarter.

The two sides traded field goals early until Brees hit tight end Jimmy Graham with a 21-yard touchdown pass with 2:34 remaining in the first half to give New Orleans a 10-6 halftime lead.

Atlanta took the lead back with a 21-yard dump-off pass to power back Jason Snelling, who rumbled through four potential tacklers on his way into the end zone midway through the third quarter.

Then the Saints took the lead back again with a sensational 33-yard touchdown pass from Brees to Robert Meachem, who went up high to get it in the back of the end zone for a 17-13 lead late in the third quarter.

The Saints gained the momentum for a while, with an interception by linebacker Scott Shanle and Kasay's field goals from 48 yards and 44 yards early in the fourth quarter extending their lead to 23-13. But the game was only just beginning at that point.

The Falcons converted a fourth-and-3 in Saints' territory with 4:25 remaining on a 3-yard pass from Matt Ryan to Roddy White. Then, two plays later, Ryan hit tight end Tony Gonzalez with a 20-yard touchdown pass in the middle of traffic to close the score to 23-20 with 4:13 remaining.

The Saints' offense chewed up some clock, and they had appeared to extend their lead with a 45-yard field goal by Kasay with 2:02 remaining, but Graham was called for holding to nullify the kick.

So the Saints punted and pinned the Falcons back on their 6-yard line. But the Falcons quickly shot down the field with a heavy dose of passes to receiver Harry Douglas in open space.

Both teams threatened to win the game on that last-minute drive, with the Falcons marching all the way to New Orleans' 9-yard line and taking a few shots at the end zone -- one of which bounced right off the hands and chest of Saints safety Roman Harper.

Ultimately, the Falcons settled for a 27-yard field goal by Matt Bryant to tie the score at 23 as time expired in regulation.

As for the defense's performance as a whole, Harper said those late Falcons' drives spoiled an otherwise impressive day for the Saints, who forced the Falcons to settle for field-goal attempts on four of their six trips inside the 25-yard line and won the turnover battle 1-0.

"The only thing you can be really disappointed in is the two-minute drive at the end (of regulation)," Harper said. "We gave them that. We blew a couple of coverages. But overall the effort, the skills and the plays we made were great. We made them check it down all day, we didn't give up any big plays."

The defense came up especially big in overtime. The Falcons won the coin toss and gained eight yards on their first play. But the Saints stopped them to force a punt.

The Saints also went three-and-out, failing to convert a third-and-2 of its own, and punted to Atlanta.

The Falcons then almost converted a first down on third-and-1 on a play-action pass to fullback Mike Cox, but Jenkins hit him, and Dunbar piled on to keep Cox inches short of the first-down marker. The play initially was ruled a first down, but replays showed that Cox fumbled the ball forward as he tried to extend it past the first-down marker.

That's when the Falcons decided to go for it on fourth-and-inches.

"When you can stop someone defensively on fourth-and-1, that's a significant way to win a game. That's an emotional way to win a game," said Payton. "Those are character builders.

"Those are games that you draw from, especially against a great opponent."